1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:02,160 All right. Good morning to you once again. 2 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:06,960 If you would open your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 5, 3 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:12,920 we're continuing our study. We've been going through Genesis 4 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:16,320 for several weeks now and we made it through the 1st 4 5 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:18,840 chapters this morning. We're going to be in Genesis 5 6 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,640 verse one all the way to Genesis 6, verse 8. 7 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:27,200 The reason being that the text today is primarily a genealogy. 8 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:34,680 Genesis 51TO68I will not be reading the text upfront simply 9 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,520 because it is a genealogy and it would be pretty time consuming 10 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:41,320 to read all this text. But I'll read a a good portion 11 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:42,960 of it as I go through it exposition. 12 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:47,480 So if you would join me as we pray, asking the Lord to speak 13 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:58,480 to us this morning, Father, we pray for our ears to be open, 14 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:02,720 and we pray to you, God, because you are the only one who can 15 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:09,680 open them. We ask God that you would also 16 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,200 open our hearts, that we would not simply be hearers of the 17 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:15,520 Word, but that we would also be doers of the Word. 18 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,040 And so we ask that you open our hearts, God, and make us a 19 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:25,320 people who love your Word, who live Your Word, who speak it, 20 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:32,000 and who are led by it. I pray this morning God, that 21 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,040 you would give us instruction, especially in the text that may 22 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:39,760 at first glance not seem to have a whole lot of application or 23 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:45,920 any real life meaning to us. But help us to see God that all 24 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:50,040 of Scripture is inspired, all of it is profitable, all of it is 25 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:54,280 intended to teach, all of it is is is given to us for training 26 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:57,080 and righteousness that we may be equipped for every good work. 27 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:04,160 I pray this in Jesus name, Amen. The text that we are going 28 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:10,000 through today raises more questions than it does answers. 29 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:15,440 Questions like how did people live to be 900 years old? 30 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,600 Is that even literal? Why didn't Enoch die? 31 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:25,360 Who are the sons of God? Who are the Nephilim? 32 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:30,240 Why create humans only to wipe them out? 33 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:33,840 What does it mean for God to be grieved? 34 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:39,400 These are just a few of the questions that this text raises, 35 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:44,120 but I want to caution us that we must be careful and text like 36 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:49,440 these that we don't get so hung up on the fine print that we 37 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:53,880 missed the body of the letter and most importantly, that we 38 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:58,160 miss the author of the letter. It's very common a text like 39 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:03,920 these for us to kind of just get into debate mode or, or textual 40 00:03:03,920 --> 00:03:08,480 criticism mode or theology mode or biblical interpretation mode 41 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:12,720 and, and, and we miss what is God speaking to us through this 42 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:15,480 text. So I want to encourage you that 43 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,200 you would have open hearts to receive what God wants to give 44 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:20,600 us this morning. So let's start with the next 45 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:24,200 edition of the text. I try to exposit the word and 46 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:27,000 then I'll give us application. We're going to start looking at 47 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:29,280 verses one to two, if you'll follow along in your copy of 48 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:31,320 God's Word, Genesis 5, one to two. 49 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:34,760 This is the book of the generations of Adam. 50 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:39,360 When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God, male 51 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,360 and female. He created them and bless them 52 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:46,760 and name them man when they were created. 53 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,080 One of the things that I want to point out in this chapter at the 54 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:55,360 beginning is that many scholars and even many Christians do not 55 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:59,440 believe that Adam was a real historical person. 56 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:04,800 They read the maybe the first 5-6 chapters, Genesis or maybe 57 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:09,200 all the way to Genesis 11 as simply being a story, a myth, 58 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:11,800 kind of like Harry Potter. It's just, you know, Harry 59 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:14,200 Potter's not a real person, neither was Adam. 60 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:19,720 And yet we see right here in this chapter that Adam has a 61 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:24,160 genealogy. Harry Potter does not have a 62 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:26,360 genealogy. Adam. 63 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:32,520 I guess he maybe does, but it's not written in the history 64 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,560 books. In the New Testament, Luke, who 65 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:41,240 is a doctor, a credible profession, who is, goes and 66 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:46,440 researches this story of the gospel, writes down the 67 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:51,800 genealogy of Jesus Christ, and he traces it all the way back to 68 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:56,200 Adam. So I I do believe that we should 69 00:04:56,200 --> 00:05:01,120 see Adam as a real historical person. 70 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:06,240 Now, verses 1 to 2 are simply a recapitulation of what we've 71 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:07,840 already read in chapters 1 and 2. 72 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:10,440 So I'll just summarize the main points here. 73 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,480 The main points being number one, humans are made in the 74 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:20,360 image of God #2 humans have two sexes, male and female #3 God 75 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:26,920 blesses mankind and #4 God named them plural man. 76 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:30,000 The Hebrew there is Adams where the name Adam comes from. 77 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:33,760 Adam just means man or but it also can be translated 78 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:35,720 humankind. And if you're wondering why did 79 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,480 he, why does it say he named them man? 80 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:40,400 I thought he named them man and woman. 81 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:43,520 Man here should be translated as humankind. 82 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:49,760 He named them humankind. Look at verses 3 to 5, when Adam 83 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:53,840 had lived 130 years, he fathered with a son in his own likeness 84 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:55,880 after his image and named him Seth. 85 00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:01,240 The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years and 86 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:02,840 he had other sons and daughters. That's all. 87 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:10,040 The days that Adam lived were 930 years and he died last week. 88 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:15,000 Chapter 4 had concluded with God blessing Adam and Eve with a son 89 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:19,040 to replace the one they lost. God gives them Seth. 90 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:23,480 Now what we didn't know from last week is that when Seth was 91 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:31,120 born, Adam was 130 years old. Now this already clues us into 92 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:35,000 the fact that human biology at the beginning of time did not 93 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:36,920 work the same way that it does today. 94 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:42,040 Now we know that there is no age limit for men to have children 95 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:44,560 necessarily. The Guinness Book Award actually 96 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:45,720 look this up. This week the Guinness Book 97 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:51,320 Award records is 92 for a man 92. 98 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:56,680 But this also means that Eve was 130 years old. 99 00:06:56,680 --> 00:06:59,800 Assuming that God made them the same age, I assume, you know, I 100 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:01,440 guess he could have made Adam older than her. 101 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:03,400 I don't, I don't know. But assuming that they were the 102 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:07,920 same age, it also means that Eve was 130 years old when Seth was 103 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:12,880 born. So again, human biology didn't 104 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:16,160 work the same at the beginning of time as it does now. 105 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:20,560 This gives potential credence to what we discussed last week, 106 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,240 where if you remember when Cain said that he had killed his 107 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:27,200 brother and he said God banished him and and he's going to be a 108 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:29,560 wanderer now he says everybody who finds me is going to kill 109 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:30,520 me. And you wonder, where did these 110 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:32,840 other people come from? At this point, it's just we just 111 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:34,960 thought it was Adam, Eve and Cain. 112 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:39,880 Where are these other people? We assume that Seth was Adam and 113 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:43,080 Eve's third child. The text never says this. 114 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:47,160 Text never says this. Seth may very well have been 115 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:50,880 their 50th child or their hundredth child, because he's 116 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:55,840 130 right now. So it's very possible that these 117 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:57,920 other people came from Adam and Eve. 118 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:01,400 Notice how the narrator describes this. 119 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:08,120 It says he fathered a son in his own likeness after his image. 120 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:11,960 What does that mean? In the same way that Seth looks 121 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:18,040 like his father and he points people to his father, right? 122 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:20,480 Look at Frank's dad. You see? 123 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:28,680 You see Frank, you see son, you see dad. 124 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:36,880 He points people to his dad. God made us to look like him and 125 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:42,919 to point people to him that when people see us they would see our 126 00:08:42,919 --> 00:08:46,640 Father. The days of Adam after he 127 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:53,320 fathered Seth were 800 years, which means Adam lived to be 930 128 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:55,840 years old. Now this raises 2 questions. 129 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:58,600 A. Is this literal and B if so, how 130 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:02,360 is this possible? I see no reason not to believe 131 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:04,840 this is literal. I understand that all scripture 132 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:08,040 is meant to be taken literally. I understand that poetry is not, 133 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:11,600 that apocalyptic literature is not, and some people would argue 134 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,320 that that Genesis, the beginning of Genesis, is not meant to be 135 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:17,920 taken literal. But for me, I see no good reason 136 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:22,600 not to take this as literal. If we do take this literal, how 137 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:26,280 is this possible? How can someone live to be 930 138 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:30,240 years old? Well, there are glass sponges in 139 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:32,880 the ocean that can live for 10,000 years. 140 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:39,360 There is a clam that is 507 years old, sharks that are 400 141 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,480 years old, and there is a tortoise right now that's 142 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:44,440 currently living that's pushing 200. 143 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:49,680 So I don't find it that hard to believe personally. 144 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:54,880 Human biology at the beginning of time did not operate the same 145 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:58,760 as it does today. The text tells us that Adam had 146 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:03,280 other sons and daughters. We don't know how many, but I 147 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:07,600 don't want you to miss the last line in verse 5 here. 148 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:17,000 Look at it. And he died and but what God 149 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:20,400 said, what would happen if they ate of the forbidden fruit? 150 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:26,920 You will surely die. Paul tells us that the wages of 151 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:31,480 sin is death. Adam sinned against God and so 152 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:37,760 he dies as a result of his sin. Verses 6 to 27 I won't be 153 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:38,880 reading. You can read that on your own 154 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,600 time if you like, but this is a list of genealogy. 155 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:47,080 Where of Seth, Seth's genealogy. I do want to point out two 156 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:49,960 individuals in this list. I want to point out two 157 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:53,440 individuals. The first is Methuselah. 158 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:59,320 Look down in verse 25. When Methuselah had lived 187 159 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:03,760 years old, he fathered Lamech. Methuselah lived after a father, 160 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:07,200 Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 161 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:14,080 Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years and he died. 162 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:18,520 Methuselah lived to be 969 years old. 163 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:22,960 He was only 31 years shy of his Millennium birthday. 164 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:26,040 What do you buy someone who turns 1000? 165 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:30,480 He is the oldest listed person in the Bible. 166 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:35,640 The second person I want to point out is Enoch Enoch, who is 167 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:40,440 Methuselah's father. Look at verse 21 to 24. 168 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:46,680 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 169 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:53,560 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years 170 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:55,320 and had other sons and daughters. 171 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:59,040 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 172 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:07,840 Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him. 173 00:12:13,700 --> 00:12:18,980 Look at how God describes this man. 174 00:12:19,980 --> 00:12:25,960 He walked with God. The Septuagint, the Greek 175 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:27,440 translation of the Old Testament. 176 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:31,560 Has Enoch pleased God? What incredible statements. 177 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:34,560 What does it mean to walk with God? 178 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:37,800 It means he lived in close fellowship with God. 179 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:42,320 He did not walk with the world. He walked with God. 180 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:45,720 Now, what's interesting about Enoch is that he's actually 181 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,200 mentioned twice in the New Testament. 182 00:12:48,560 --> 00:12:52,320 The first is in Jude 14 to 15. I'll read that for you. 183 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:56,680 Jude 14 to 15. It was also about these that 184 00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:02,440 Enoch the 7th from Adam prophesied, saying, Behold, the 185 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:06,480 board comes with 10 thousands of his holy ones to execute 186 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:11,120 judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their 187 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:13,880 deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an 188 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:18,040 ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly 189 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:23,640 sinners have spoken against him. Now that's telling to us because 190 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:28,240 that means that Enoch may very well have been the first prophet 191 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:34,760 of God, the very first person in human history who warns God's 192 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:37,480 people of the coming judgement for their sin. 193 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:39,080 Enoch may have been the first prophet. 194 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:44,360 Second passage in the New Testament, Hebrews 11/5 in the 195 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:49,320 so-called Hall of faith. By faith, Enoch was taken up so 196 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:53,080 that he should not see death, and he was not found because God 197 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:55,960 had taken him. Now before he was taken, he was 198 00:13:55,960 --> 00:14:04,640 commended as having pleased God. Enoch actually becomes one of 199 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:08,240 two people in Scripture that God took up to heaven without 200 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:11,240 experiencing death, the other being Elijah. 201 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:15,280 Enoch and Elijah are the two people that we know of that did 202 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,440 not experience death. Now the question we want to know 203 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:21,040 is why not? Why did not? 204 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:23,760 Why did these two individuals not experience death? 205 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,880 Why did God take up these two people to heaven without dying? 206 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:30,840 We don't know. There's there's theories and 207 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:32,600 theories and theories. We don't know. 208 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:36,880 Scripture never says, but I do like what 1 commentator writes. 209 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:40,760 He says this. This may be 1 indication in this 210 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:47,120 chapter that long life per SE is not the most sacred and 211 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:49,120 honorable blessing that can come from God. 212 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:55,960 To be lifted aloft into God's immediate presence is perhaps 213 00:14:55,960 --> 00:15:02,200 more of an honor. Look at verse 28 to 32. 214 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:08,200 When Lamech had lived 182 years. He fathered the son, called his 215 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:11,480 name Noah, saying out of the ground, The Lord has cursed. 216 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:16,200 This one shall bring us relief from our work and from the 217 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:19,840 painful work of our hands. Lamech lived after he fathered 218 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:23,160 Noah 595 years, and he had other sons and daughters. 219 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:30,000 Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died after 220 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:34,720 Noah was 500 years old. Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and 221 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:39,080 Japheth. Now the narrow takes time to 222 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:41,920 tell us about Lamech. This is not the same Lamech and 223 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:43,680 Genesis 4. Don't get them confused. 224 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:48,080 Genesis 4. Lamech is from Cain, Genesis 5. 225 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:50,960 Lamech is from Seth, two different Lamechs. 226 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:55,360 Lamech has a son and he names him Noah. 227 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:58,480 Why does he name him Noah? He names him Noah because Noah 228 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,840 sounds like one of the Hebrew words Forrest. 229 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:05,720 Also, it sounds like the Hebrew word that's used in this passage 230 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,440 for relief. That Hebrew word for relief can 231 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:12,520 be translated as comfort. Lamech prophecies over his son 232 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:17,640 and says this one, this son is going to bring us relief, 233 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:22,640 comfort, rest. Now that's somewhat of an ironic 234 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:27,640 prophecy because it does come true, but not in the way that 235 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:31,840 Lamech probably intended. I doubt he intended it will come 236 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:34,880 true through a flood that wipes out the humankind. 237 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:39,600 Lamech lives 595 years after Noah. 238 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:44,160 Later we will learn that Noah was 600 years old when the flood 239 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:46,720 started. So if you wonder like why wasn't 240 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:50,720 Lamech on the ark because he passed away five years before 241 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:56,680 the flood started, then we learn and the last verse in this 242 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:02,120 genealogy that Noah was 500 years old when he had three 243 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:04,599 sons. Think about that. 244 00:17:05,599 --> 00:17:09,000 In 1970, the average age of fathers in America having their 245 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:13,240 first child was 27. Today it is 32. 246 00:17:14,599 --> 00:17:16,880 No one might skew these numbers just a little bit. 247 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:22,520 Can you imagine his parents badgering him for 500 years? 248 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:24,480 When am I going to see some grandkids? 249 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:33,960 Yeah, look at chapter 6, verses 1 to 3, when man began to 250 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,160 multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them. 251 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,880 The sons of God saw that the daughters of man were 252 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:44,800 attractive, and they took as their wives any they chose. 253 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:49,120 Then the Lord said, My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, 254 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:55,600 for he is flesh. His day shall be 120 years. 255 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:00,280 So as we have seen in this genealogy, if you read on your 256 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:03,240 own time, you will begin to see that mankind has begun to 257 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:07,440 multiply and to fill the earth. This was God's intention. 258 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:10,880 God told Adam and Eve, be fruitful, multiply, subdue the 259 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:14,520 earth, fill the earth. But as daughters began to be 260 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:22,000 born to them, the text says that the sons of God saw that these 261 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:27,040 women were attractive and they took as their wives any they 262 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:30,160 chose. Now that raises so many 263 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:32,520 questions. What does this statement mean? 264 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,120 I'm going to limit it to two questions for the sake of time. 265 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:40,440 Number one, who are the sons of God? 266 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:43,360 Who are the sons of God? There are three main 267 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:47,280 possibilities here. A fallen angels. 268 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:51,560 Angels who were perfect and they fell from the Lord and they took 269 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,400 the form of humans. So fallen angels who took the 270 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:59,280 form of humans, that's AB they are godly descendants of Seth, 271 00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:03,120 godly descendants of Seth. And if this is, if you go with 272 00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:07,480 this theory that you say, well, why was this wicked for them? 273 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:10,440 It would be wicked because they married wicked Canaanite 274 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:12,600 daughters. In other words, this is kind of 275 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,720 like the first instance of unyoked marriages. 276 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:21,000 So you have godly men from Seth marrying wicked women 277 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:24,680 descendants from Cain and you have on yoke marriages. 278 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:28,920 That's that's also a theory. See, this is powerful tyrants. 279 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:30,960 The reason they're called sons of God is kind of the way we, 280 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:35,440 you know, emperors and kings were called sons of God, right? 281 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:38,160 This may be powerful tyrants who were demon possessed. 282 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:40,960 Which of these three should we go with? 283 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:44,000 I believe A is the most likely explanation. 284 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,720 I believe A that they are fallen angels who took the form of 285 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:51,960 humans is the most likely expression for two reasons #1 286 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:56,560 The only other usage of this phrase occurs in Job. 287 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:00,320 It says that when the sons of God came to present themselves 288 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:02,440 to the Lord, that's only the time this phrase is used. 289 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,120 Sons of God. And in that passage, I think it 290 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:07,400 clearly refers to angelic beings. 291 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:10,680 That's the first reason. The second reason is I don't 292 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:12,920 think it they would be descendants of Seth. 293 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:16,520 Because there seems to be a distinction between sons of God 294 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:20,560 and daughters of man. It seems to be that the sons are 295 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:23,800 sons of God, like lowercase Elohim. 296 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:28,000 Not not not sons of Yahweh, sons of Elohim. 297 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:32,160 Elohim is used very broadly in the Old Testament, and that 298 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:37,280 there's the daughters of man. So I don't think the Seth theory 299 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:40,000 works for me. But that interpretation itself 300 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,360 is not without problems, right? It's like that. 301 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:48,080 You're telling me that demons came and got married to women. 302 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:51,200 What does it mean they took wives? 303 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:52,880 That's the second question. What does it mean they took 304 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:57,800 wives? This is actually described in 305 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,880 the pseudopigrapha. Pseudopigrapha is an apocryphal 306 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:02,640 work. We don't believe it's inspired, 307 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,200 but if you want to read on your, we're not going to look into it 308 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:07,400 because for time's sake. But if you want to read on your 309 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:09,000 own time, I would highly encourage you to read this. 310 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,200 It's fascinating. It's not inspired, but read 311 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:16,400 first Enoch six to seven, first Enoch six to seven. 312 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:22,240 Read on your own time please. It's quite fascinating and it 313 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:26,800 describes this. This may be what Jude is 314 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:29,640 referring to. We know that Jude did quote from 315 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:36,040 the Apocrypha and Jude and Jude 6 writes this and the angels who 316 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:40,840 did not stay within their own position of authority, but left 317 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:44,760 their proper dwelling. That may be a reference to this, 318 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:48,360 that angels, fallen angels, God had given them a position of 319 00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:51,080 authority and they left that position of authority came to 320 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:56,440 this earth to intermingle with these attractive women. 321 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,840 Now this was evil. We know this because as a result 322 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:05,680 of this action, God says this, God says my spirit shall not 323 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:08,520 abide in man forever, for he is flesh. 324 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:14,960 His days shall be 120 years. Now, what does that statement 325 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,840 mean? Commentaries on that statement 326 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,760 are pages and pages and pages long. 327 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:23,200 I'll give you what I think it's saying. 328 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:29,640 I believe that the way the reason that people were able to 329 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:34,680 live 708 hundred 900 years is because of God's Spirit. 330 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:42,360 In other words, if God wanted to sustain me or you for 900 years, 331 00:22:42,360 --> 00:22:44,000 he could do it right. We all believe that. 332 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:49,440 And God's Spirit allowed these people to live for 708 hundred, 333 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:52,920 900 years long. But due to the great wickedness 334 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:56,400 with which they engaged, right, the longer they live, they they 335 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:58,120 engaged in more and more wickedness. 336 00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:00,880 God says my Spirit will no longer sustain them to live this 337 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:04,240 long. He says I will limit their 338 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:10,240 lifespan to 120 years. Now some commentators take 120 339 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:13,080 years to be the time frame before the flood will come. 340 00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:15,920 Some some take it as that 100 like he says I will limit it to 341 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:18,680 120 years, meaning they will live for 120 years and then the 342 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:21,320 flood's going to come that. That's a pretty good time frame. 343 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:23,800 That's a good theory. I tend to interpret it, though, 344 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:29,440 as the length of human life. Some people will point at that 345 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:32,680 and poke at that and say well, Abraham lived to 175, Isaac to 346 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:36,960 180, and Jacob 147. I think that may just be a delay 347 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:40,160 before God enacts this or it could be an exception that God 348 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:43,120 makes to the patriarchs after those 3 patriarchs. 349 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:47,360 There's no no recorded person who lives past 120. 350 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:54,120 And yes, for you precise people, there are people who have lived 351 00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:59,600 to like 121 and 122. The Bible is not being a math 352 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,520 book or a science book here. It's giving a round Number. 353 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:06,200 Most people live, don't live past 120. 354 00:24:08,120 --> 00:24:13,160 Look at verse 4. The Nephilim were on the earth 355 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:16,480 in those days and also afterward when the sons of God came into 356 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:19,280 the daughters of man and they bore children to them. 357 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:24,720 These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. 358 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:27,560 Now the question everybody wants to know when they read this 359 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:32,080 passage is who are the Nephilim? I don't believe I have ever gone 360 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:35,480 and asked the pastor without being asked, who are the 361 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:37,320 Nephilim? I've answered it. 362 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:40,560 I answer it every year. I'm going to answer it again. 363 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:42,520 Ask the pastor's coming up again. 364 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:47,840 Feel free to ask it again if you don't remember. 365 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:53,400 Nephilim is a transliterated Hebrew word. 366 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:56,160 It's a transliterated word. So it it, it, it's it. 367 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:01,600 Nobody knows what it means if you read it, if you, if you 368 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:05,320 Google this or put it in AI and and tell this, nobody knows what 369 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:07,440 it means. All right, if we were to take it 370 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:10,160 literally, but you got to be careful with, you know, taking 371 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:12,360 things literally, right? Like it's like if you translator 372 00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:15,000 the, the word butterfly, like somebody would think what means 373 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,200 when butterflies, it's like, well, no, that's not what a 374 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:20,080 butterfly is, right? You have to be careful taking 375 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:22,560 something literally when you translate it to another 376 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:25,480 language. But if we took it literally, it 377 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:30,200 means fallen ones. Fallen ones, the King James 378 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:33,720 version, if you have King James, I think even new King James. 379 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:35,600 I didn't look this up, but I think new King James does as 380 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:36,720 well. The King James version 381 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:39,560 translates it as giants. Giants. 382 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:43,320 There is no evidence to suggest this is a correct translation. 383 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:49,240 Even if they were giants, I don't think it means they're 384 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:51,240 like 30 foot giants as we think of them, right? 385 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:53,920 When we think of like Disney and there's like a 30 foot giant, 386 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:56,960 you know, I don't think it's, they would be like 7 to 9 foot 387 00:25:56,960 --> 00:25:59,320 giants, right? When we talk about, I mean, if 388 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:01,440 you see a 7 foot person, you think that's a giant, you see a 389 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:03,520 nine foot person that you would think that's a giant, right? 390 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:05,520 I think they'd be 7 to 9 foot giants. 391 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:11,760 So perhaps before the flood, people lived longer and they 392 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:14,160 were a lot taller. Perhaps. 393 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:19,800 Many scholars believe that the Nephilim, though, may actually 394 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:24,720 be the descendants of the sons of God and women. 395 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:29,120 So when these sons of God went and had relations with these 396 00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:32,000 women, their descendants were the Nephilim. 397 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:35,320 If so, that would make them a form of demigod. 398 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:39,640 And some scholars argue that if that's the case, why God sent 399 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:43,480 the flood in part was to destroy these descendants. 400 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:47,280 God was so displeased with these descendants that he sent the 401 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:51,200 flood in part to destroy them. That's the again, that's theory. 402 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:57,400 The narrator further describes them as the mighty men who were 403 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:01,840 of old, the men of renown. What does that mean? 404 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:04,440 It means that these were men of reputation, They were men of 405 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:06,840 fame. They were mighty. 406 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:10,680 I imagine if you were a giant you would be a mighty. 407 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:15,880 Look at verse 5. The Lord saw that the wickedness 408 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:18,680 of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the 409 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:24,400 thoughts of his heart was only evil continually in Reformed 410 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:26,520 theology, which is what we teach at this church. 411 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:29,160 You don't have to be Reformed to be at this church, but it is 412 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:31,320 what will be taught in Reformed theology. 413 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:33,280 We have a doctrine called total depravity. 414 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:36,760 This is one of the verses that's used to support this doctrine. 415 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:41,440 Total depravity does not mean that we are the worst possible 416 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:46,120 sinners that we could be right. Hitler was not the worst 417 00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:48,480 possible he. He could have killed 6,000,001 418 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:52,680 Jew or two. We're not the worst possible 419 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:56,800 sinners we could be. It means that every part of us 420 00:27:57,120 --> 00:28:00,720 is depraved. There's no part of us that's not 421 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:03,280 depraved. Our hearts, our minds, our 422 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,520 wills, our emotions, our thoughts, our actions, our 423 00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:10,680 words, all of it is depraved. It's totally depraved. 424 00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:19,080 Notice God doesn't just call man bad, but wicked. 425 00:28:20,360 --> 00:28:23,680 God doesn't just say that they were wicked, but that is 426 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:27,640 wickedness was great. God doesn't say that this was 427 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,200 just some of the time, some of the time their wickedness was 428 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:33,880 great. God says that every intention of 429 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:39,520 the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 430 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:46,480 How did you notice the absolutes that are used there every only 431 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:52,640 continually? Look at verses 6 to 8 last 432 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:56,040 passage. And the Lord regretted that he 433 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:59,240 had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 434 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:03,160 So the Lord said, I will blot out man whom I've created from 435 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:06,880 the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and 436 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,720 birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them. 437 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:14,280 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. 438 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:19,760 Now these these 3 verses raise a myriad of theological questions, 439 00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:22,280 don't they? What does it mean for God to 440 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:24,760 have regret? What does it mean that it 441 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:27,320 grieved them to his heart? What does it mean that he was 442 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:31,920 sorry that he made them? If you just read these verses at 443 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:35,080 face value, like if you just read them at face value, you 444 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:36,800 will get some messed up theology. 445 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:43,880 Like God makes mistakes. There actually is a we, we have 446 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:46,320 a former member who, who basically that was what they 447 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:47,480 decided they were like, you know what? 448 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:49,720 I've just decided to believe that God makes mistakes. 449 00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:52,120 That's how I'm going to solve this problem. 450 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:54,080 He just makes mistakes. He's like, you know, he's, he's, 451 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:59,760 he's a person like all of us. He makes mistakes or that God 452 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:03,160 can regret his decisions, that God did this and he was like, 453 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:06,160 man, I knew I shouldn't have made this world. 454 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:13,560 That's not what these verses are teaching. 455 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:16,680 That's not what these verses are teaching. 456 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:19,400 We believe that God is omnipotent. 457 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:23,360 He's omniscient, He's Omni sapient, all wise. 458 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:28,320 He never makes mistakes, He never regrets his decisions. 459 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,160 And if that's true, then you would say, well then brother, 460 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:36,200 what are these verses teaching? If he doesn't have regrets, if 461 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:38,160 he doesn't make mistakes, what are these verses teaching? 462 00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:41,360 This is one of those places where it's helpful to understand 463 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:45,760 the original language. The Hebrew words in this passage 464 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:50,520 for regret and sorry are the same Hebrew word. 465 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:54,000 Regret and sorry are the same Hebrew word. 466 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:58,320 It is a broad term that is translated some 11 different 467 00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:02,840 ways. I think grieved is the more 468 00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:08,440 accurate translation here. Grieved God doesn't have have 469 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:13,640 regret the way that humans do. He doesn't have regret the way 470 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:17,360 that we do. First Samuel 1529 Also the glory 471 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:25,600 of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man that 472 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:33,640 he should have regret. God doesn't feel regret, but he 473 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:40,640 does feel grief. His grief is not like ours, but 474 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:45,400 he does feel something that the best we can describe is grief. 475 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:50,640 God is so grieved by man's wickedness that he decides to do 476 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:54,720 something about it. He says I will blot out man whom 477 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:56,920 I have created from the face of the land. 478 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:01,520 We'll look at next week and I want you to consider that if the 479 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:08,160 text stopped at verse 7, if if it if it's stopped at verse 7, 480 00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:09,480 that might be the end of the Bible. 481 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:16,200 The Bible is is 6 chapters and seven verses long. 482 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:19,640 We might think God is going to either completely start over or 483 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:21,520 maybe he's just going to end humanity altogether. 484 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:27,760 But verse 8 offers us a ray of hope. 485 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:36,000 In the midst of tremendous darkness, Noah found favor in 486 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:40,040 the eyes of the Lord. Noah is the first person in 487 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:45,640 Scripture of whom it is said they found favor in the eyes of 488 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:49,840 the Lord. And next week we will see why 489 00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:55,960 that matters so much. Stop their exposition, 490 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:58,000 exposition, application of the text. 491 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:08,360 I have eight points #1 Our lives are 110th the duration God 492 00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:12,200 intended them to be. Make the best use of time 493 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:19,880 because the days are evil. Our lives are 110th of what God 494 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:23,400 intended them to be. Make the best use of time 495 00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:29,280 because the days are evil. The current life expectancy in 496 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:35,440 the United States is 79, with men being around 76 and women 497 00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:39,200 being around 81. The country with the highest 498 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:43,600 life expectancy is Monaco at 86 years. 499 00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:48,680 And although we may know someone who's pushing 90 or 95 or even 500 00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:51,480 100, I still have a grandma who is alive who's pushing 100. 501 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:57,320 Most of us get around 80 years in this life. 502 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:04,120 Our brother Ivan passed away at the age of 72. 503 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:12,080 Although 80 years may seem like a long time, especially the 504 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:15,679 younger you are, for my boys 80 years might as well be 8 505 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:21,719 trillion years. I want you to consider the ages 506 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:27,400 in this chapter. Adam is 930, Enos 905, Keenan 507 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:35,760 910, Mahalo 895, Jared 962, Methuselah 969, and then Lamech 508 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:39,960 who died at the ripe young age of 777. 509 00:34:42,159 --> 00:34:48,880 Our lives are 110th the duration of what God originally intended 510 00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:52,040 them to be. And the Apostle Paul tells us in 511 00:34:52,040 --> 00:35:00,680 the book of Ephesians make the best use of the time because the 512 00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:07,320 days are evil. Imagine you went to Disney World 513 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:09,840 or Six Flags or you know, somewhere like that. 514 00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:12,760 Imagine if you were only going to take one trip of your whole 515 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:13,720 life. You knew it. 516 00:35:13,720 --> 00:35:19,120 You're like, you get one trip or one cruise or you know, like 517 00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:20,440 you're not taking any more trips. 518 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:25,800 You get one trip when you go to let's let's say it's Disney 519 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:26,960 World. You go there and normally you 520 00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:32,720 spend 10 hours in the park. A lot of that time you just kind 521 00:35:32,720 --> 00:35:39,160 of walking around, eating a Turkey leg, getting on rides 522 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:44,040 that really aren't that fun, shopping, talking, deciding 523 00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:48,200 where we're going to go next. But imagine when you first got 524 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:54,640 to the park, you were told your tickets are good for one hour, 525 00:35:56,880 --> 00:36:02,680 not Ten 1. You have one hour to enjoy this 526 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:07,480 park. Would that not change how you 527 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:14,320 spend your time? Maybe we'll skip that Turkey 528 00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:22,120 leg. Would it not change how we spend 529 00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:28,960 our time? Our lives are one 10th the 530 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:31,320 duration that God intended them to be. 531 00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:39,160 Make the best use of time because the days are evil. 532 00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:45,160 Two. There is a difference between 533 00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:49,360 reading a weather forecast and standing out in the rain. 534 00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:55,800 There is a difference between reading a weather forecast and 535 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:59,680 standing out in the rain. I want to draw your attention to 536 00:36:59,720 --> 00:37:02,760 a phrase in chapter 5 in the genealogy. 537 00:37:02,760 --> 00:37:05,680 There's a phrase in chapter 5. It occurs 8 times in this 538 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:07,200 chapter. And here it is. 539 00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:14,400 And he died. Over and over again. 540 00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:17,400 The narrator reminds us that all of these men died except for 541 00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:20,480 Enoch. Now, why does that matter? 542 00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:24,720 We all know we're going to die. If I were to ask, I mean, I 543 00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:27,800 could ask the youngest person, Audrey or or Naom, I could ask 544 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:30,000 the, you know, will you die one day? 545 00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:34,200 We, we know this. We know it from a young age. 546 00:37:34,200 --> 00:37:37,920 We know, we all know we're going to die. 547 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:46,000 But the difference between knowing this and feeling this is 548 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:50,000 the difference between reading a weather forecast and standing 549 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:55,920 out in the rain. The person who reads a weather 550 00:37:55,920 --> 00:37:59,000 forecast knows it's going to rain. 551 00:38:00,720 --> 00:38:07,320 The person who stands out in the rain not only knows it, they 552 00:38:07,360 --> 00:38:14,730 feel it. We had Ivan's celebration of 553 00:38:14,730 --> 00:38:19,890 life this past Friday. There was one verse that I just 554 00:38:19,890 --> 00:38:26,080 could not get out of my head. Ecclesiastes 72 It is better to 555 00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:30,840 go to the House of mourning than to go to the House of feasting. 556 00:38:31,240 --> 00:38:37,800 For this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay 557 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:47,440 it to heart. The living will lay it to heart. 558 00:38:47,720 --> 00:38:51,600 What does that mean? It means that death is not some 559 00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:55,360 abstract concept in the distant future that I don't really think 560 00:38:55,360 --> 00:39:05,000 about that much as I stood there looking at Ivan's body. 561 00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:08,920 I do this at every funeral. I know some people, when they 562 00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:10,160 pay their respects, they just walk right by. 563 00:39:10,160 --> 00:39:11,400 They never even look at the casket. 564 00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:15,960 Ivan asked me, Should we have an open casket? 565 00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:17,240 I said, what's your decision, Ivan? 566 00:39:17,240 --> 00:39:20,920 But I I would so we did. Why? 567 00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:26,360 Because I am potential to stand there and look as I stood there 568 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:32,720 and looked at his body. I stand in the rain. 569 00:39:36,680 --> 00:39:51,030 I feel my mortality. 3 Genealogies comprise at least 5% 570 00:39:51,030 --> 00:39:54,040 of the Bible, God thought they were important. 571 00:39:55,600 --> 00:40:01,120 Genealogies comprise at least 5% of the Bible, God thought they 572 00:40:01,120 --> 00:40:03,960 were important. I get that genealogies are not 573 00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:06,200 the most exciting parts of Scripture, right? 574 00:40:06,240 --> 00:40:09,360 I, you know, I, if I were to, you know, put on YouTube a 575 00:40:09,360 --> 00:40:12,640 sermon titled like genealogies, I don't know, 2 views, you know, 576 00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:13,720 and it might have been an accident. 577 00:40:13,720 --> 00:40:19,200 They accidentally clicked on it. I get that genealogies are not 578 00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:20,680 the most exciting parts of Scripture. 579 00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:24,680 I highly doubt that anybody is reading a genealogy at their 580 00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:27,080 wedding. I highly doubt that Kevin and 581 00:40:27,080 --> 00:40:31,840 Jessica are going to have this read and their wedding today. 582 00:40:33,680 --> 00:40:36,440 I highly doubt anybody's reading the genealogy at their funeral. 583 00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:40,040 I highly doubt that anybody's using a genealogy as their theme 584 00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:45,720 verse for their church retreat, but genealogies comprise at 585 00:40:45,720 --> 00:40:50,960 least 5% of the Bible, at least. Maybe some scholars say as much 586 00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:54,760 as 10, which means that God thought they were important. 587 00:40:54,840 --> 00:40:56,880 And the question is why? Why? 588 00:40:57,520 --> 00:41:00,800 There are many reasons. I did a Friday night Series A 589 00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:04,120 couple weeks a couple years ago. I gave you like 16 reasons why I 590 00:41:04,120 --> 00:41:07,240 think they're important. I'll give you one. 591 00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:14,160 I'll give you 1. Today, genealogies remind us how 592 00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:19,440 insignificant we are and how significant God is. 593 00:41:22,880 --> 00:41:26,600 I would imagine if you live to be 900 years old, you would be a 594 00:41:26,600 --> 00:41:28,360 significant person. History, right? 595 00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:32,880 Like if you were on this earth, I think it like Gandalf, you 596 00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:35,600 know who's like been around for like forever, you know you would 597 00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:39,440 be a significant person on this earth if you live 9 and and yet 598 00:41:39,520 --> 00:41:45,280 Enosh, Keenan, Mahalo, Jared, Methuselah all live 9 centuries 599 00:41:45,280 --> 00:41:52,360 and we know nothing about them. Can you imagine living for 900 600 00:41:52,360 --> 00:41:56,480 years and nobody knowing nothing about your life? 601 00:41:59,880 --> 00:42:05,080 Tomorrow is Memorial Day. If you have never visited a War 602 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:09,000 Memorial or a War Museum, I would highly encourage you to. 603 00:42:10,040 --> 00:42:12,680 I've had the privilege of visiting the World War 2 museum 604 00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:16,400 in New Orleans three times. And you when you go into these, 605 00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:19,440 you know, there's a like a Vietnam War memorial or a 606 00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:22,080 museum. They have, they, they list these 607 00:42:22,080 --> 00:42:25,920 names of these men and, and now women who have died in these 608 00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:29,000 wars. And as, as, as I stand there and 609 00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:35,080 I read these names, I think to myself, what if my name was up 610 00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:39,920 there? You know, it's just, it's like 611 00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:44,080 there's a whole wall of names and, and I'm just like, my whole 612 00:42:44,080 --> 00:42:52,600 life is summed up in one inch. Genealogies have a way of 613 00:42:52,600 --> 00:42:59,880 reminding us I am insignificant and God is significant. 614 00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:10,240 For what legacy should we strive for to be someone who walked 615 00:43:10,240 --> 00:43:15,560 with God? What legacy should we strive for 616 00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:22,320 to be someone who walked with God despite our insignificance? 617 00:43:22,320 --> 00:43:24,400 That doesn't mean we shouldn't be striving for a legacy. 618 00:43:24,760 --> 00:43:26,760 We should. We should all be striving for a 619 00:43:26,760 --> 00:43:31,200 legacy. The question is what legacy? 620 00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:34,160 What legacy should we be striving for? 621 00:43:35,080 --> 00:43:39,840 I asked ChatGPT. Can you give me several examples 622 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:42,600 of what legacy I should be striving for? 623 00:43:42,880 --> 00:43:43,880 Just want to see what it would say. 624 00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:49,960 Here are some of the examples that gave me a reputation for 625 00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:51,960 truthfulness and trustworthiness. 626 00:43:52,920 --> 00:43:55,120 Serving others. These are all different. 627 00:43:55,840 --> 00:43:58,760 I said give me one line these so these are all separate. 628 00:43:59,720 --> 00:44:01,960 Serving others without needing recognition. 629 00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:05,640 Wisdom that guided younger people well. 630 00:44:07,240 --> 00:44:12,760 A person who finished well. Leaving people better than you 631 00:44:12,760 --> 00:44:16,160 found them. Loving your family 632 00:44:16,320 --> 00:44:19,800 sacrificially. Now, those are all great 633 00:44:19,800 --> 00:44:26,520 legacies, but I have to be honest, if there is a legacy 634 00:44:26,520 --> 00:44:30,760 that I would want to leave, it's the legacy of Enoch. 635 00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:43,100 He walked with God. What are people going to 636 00:44:43,100 --> 00:44:48,980 remember about you? When people stand up at your 637 00:44:48,980 --> 00:44:53,740 funeral and they talk about you, what are they going to remember? 638 00:44:55,460 --> 00:45:03,360 Your kindness, your generosity, your humor, your personality. 639 00:45:06,320 --> 00:45:08,240 Here's what people remembered about Enoch. 640 00:45:09,880 --> 00:45:16,080 He walked with God. Church family. 641 00:45:16,080 --> 00:45:20,760 Be a man or woman who walks with God. 642 00:45:22,360 --> 00:45:24,720 There's no greater legacy than this one. 643 00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:36,360 Five, if God were to take you home today, would you be 644 00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:42,800 satisfied with your life if God were to give you the same 645 00:45:42,800 --> 00:45:46,080 privilege that he gave Enoch if he were to take you home today? 646 00:45:47,960 --> 00:45:49,760 Like you didn't even die. He just took you. 647 00:45:50,840 --> 00:45:55,800 You're walking to the church lot and and you, you didn't make it. 648 00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:04,040 I love verse 24. It's one of my favorite verses 649 00:46:04,040 --> 00:46:11,880 in Genesis. Enoch walked with God and he was 650 00:46:11,880 --> 00:46:19,680 not for God took him. What was he doing at the time, 651 00:46:20,560 --> 00:46:22,440 right? Maybe he had just planted a 652 00:46:22,440 --> 00:46:25,520 garden. You know, he's like, I just took 653 00:46:25,520 --> 00:46:26,800 up gardening. I just planted a garden. 654 00:46:26,800 --> 00:46:30,920 I'm waiting for my first crop to come up and right before, you 655 00:46:30,920 --> 00:46:34,240 know, maybe his wife was pregnant with their first child. 656 00:46:34,240 --> 00:46:39,040 Well, we know that not to be the case, but I guess Methuselah 657 00:46:39,960 --> 00:46:45,640 second child, maybe one of his kids was pregnant with his first 658 00:46:45,640 --> 00:46:49,480 grandchild. Maybe he had just built a new 659 00:46:49,480 --> 00:46:51,760 house and was excited to live in it. 660 00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:57,880 Maybe he had just started a new business, Airbnb for shepherds. 661 00:47:02,080 --> 00:47:07,480 But none of that mattered because God said it's time to 662 00:47:07,480 --> 00:47:12,680 come home. I'm going to take you. 663 00:47:15,000 --> 00:47:18,720 Enoch left this earth at 365 years old. 664 00:47:18,720 --> 00:47:21,720 Now that sounds like a long time, but that's young compared 665 00:47:21,720 --> 00:47:22,960 to all the other men in this chapter. 666 00:47:23,480 --> 00:47:26,160 That's that's almost 1/3 of their length. 667 00:47:26,560 --> 00:47:30,680 And it got me thinking, if God were to take me today, right now 668 00:47:30,800 --> 00:47:35,800 at age 44, married with four kids, if God would take me, 669 00:47:35,840 --> 00:47:38,320 would I be satisfied with my life? 670 00:47:42,600 --> 00:47:44,040 Would you be satisfied with your life? 671 00:47:48,120 --> 00:47:50,400 Would you feel like man? There were so many things I 672 00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:52,280 wanted to do. There were so many things I 673 00:47:52,280 --> 00:47:54,200 wanted to see. There were so many things I 674 00:47:54,200 --> 00:47:59,840 wanted to experience. Or would you consider it a 675 00:47:59,840 --> 00:48:01,960 tremendous blessing that God took you? 676 00:48:05,640 --> 00:48:08,960 Would you consider it to be the most blessed person in the world 677 00:48:09,040 --> 00:48:16,280 that God said come home? God doesn't consult with Enoch. 678 00:48:16,280 --> 00:48:17,560 He doesn't even give him a heads up. 679 00:48:17,560 --> 00:48:18,800 He doesn't even give him a choice. 680 00:48:19,120 --> 00:48:22,520 He doesn't give him a timeline. He just takes them. 681 00:48:26,360 --> 00:48:30,800 If God were to give you this incredible privilege today, 682 00:48:35,200 --> 00:48:45,080 whether you are 12 or 52, would you be satisfied with your life? 683 00:48:48,360 --> 00:48:59,360 6 Lust is no harmless sin. Lust is no harmless sin. 684 00:48:59,800 --> 00:49:03,320 When I use the word lust, I don't simply mean the sexual 685 00:49:03,320 --> 00:49:05,760 type of lust. The Bible speaks of lust as 686 00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:07,840 anything that we desire that is forbidden. 687 00:49:07,840 --> 00:49:09,120 That's how the Bible describes lust. 688 00:49:09,280 --> 00:49:11,840 Anything we desire that is forbidden. 689 00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:18,960 The devil will tell us the lie that lust is not that bad. 690 00:49:20,080 --> 00:49:22,240 It's not that bad. You'll hear it in phrases, 691 00:49:22,240 --> 00:49:24,120 right? I'm just curious. 692 00:49:25,680 --> 00:49:29,000 Just curious. Look, but don't touch. 693 00:49:30,440 --> 00:49:33,720 I'm just window shopping. And no harm in window shopping. 694 00:49:35,880 --> 00:49:38,400 I I know where my boundaries are, all right. 695 00:49:38,520 --> 00:49:41,840 I know where they are. A quick little glance never 696 00:49:41,840 --> 00:49:45,840 killed anyone. It don't cost anything to look. 697 00:49:48,880 --> 00:49:51,400 Once I see it, I can finally stop thinking about it. 698 00:49:54,480 --> 00:49:56,680 Such is the danger of the enemy's lies. 699 00:49:58,560 --> 00:50:03,480 Why did he fall into sin? Because she lusted after the 700 00:50:03,480 --> 00:50:08,360 forbidden fruit. Why did the sons of God fall 701 00:50:08,360 --> 00:50:12,160 into sin? Because they lusted after the 702 00:50:12,160 --> 00:50:17,360 daughters of men. The Israelites lusted for meat. 703 00:50:18,200 --> 00:50:20,400 Aiken lusted after forbidden spoil. 704 00:50:20,640 --> 00:50:24,560 Kora lusted for power. Gehisy lusted after the King's 705 00:50:24,560 --> 00:50:27,200 reward. David lusted after another man's 706 00:50:27,200 --> 00:50:31,520 wife. Lust is no harmless sin. 707 00:50:32,040 --> 00:50:35,040 In all of these examples, it ended very badly for them. 708 00:50:38,000 --> 00:50:43,200 Lust will destroy us. Be careful. 709 00:50:43,200 --> 00:50:52,360 Church Family 7 Apart from Christ, we are not good people, 710 00:50:53,720 --> 00:50:58,960 we are wicked and evil. Apart from Christ, we are not 711 00:50:58,960 --> 00:51:01,320 good people, we are wicked and evil. 712 00:51:01,600 --> 00:51:04,400 Several years ago, I remember having a conversation with 713 00:51:04,400 --> 00:51:07,360 someone in our church about whether people are basically 714 00:51:07,360 --> 00:51:11,840 good or basically bad. The conversation was originally 715 00:51:11,840 --> 00:51:13,120 political. They was, he was basically 716 00:51:13,160 --> 00:51:15,040 making an argument that Republicans think that people 717 00:51:15,040 --> 00:51:17,880 are basically bad and Democrats think they're basically good. 718 00:51:18,040 --> 00:51:20,800 And that was the difference. And I was, that may be way too 719 00:51:20,800 --> 00:51:24,280 broad of a stroke to paint with, but then we got into theology. 720 00:51:24,280 --> 00:51:26,920 I was like, are people basically good or are they basically bad 721 00:51:28,680 --> 00:51:31,960 for, for Christians? I thought it was assumed that we 722 00:51:31,960 --> 00:51:33,640 all knew that people are basically bad. 723 00:51:34,240 --> 00:51:36,160 I I just thought that was assumed but I discovered that's 724 00:51:36,160 --> 00:51:37,840 not a doctrine that all Christians hold. 725 00:51:39,520 --> 00:51:41,240 We hear statements in the world right? 726 00:51:42,000 --> 00:51:46,080 He's a good person. I believe people are basically 727 00:51:46,080 --> 00:51:49,600 good. Everyone has a good heart deep 728 00:51:49,600 --> 00:51:53,360 down. People are born inherently good. 729 00:51:53,360 --> 00:51:57,280 It's society that corrupts them. Most people are just trying to 730 00:51:57,280 --> 00:52:01,520 do the right thing. No one wakes up wanting to be 731 00:52:01,520 --> 00:52:04,680 the bad guy. People are generally 732 00:52:04,680 --> 00:52:10,160 well-intentioned. Those sound like kind phrases, 733 00:52:11,880 --> 00:52:13,560 but is this what the Bible teaches? 734 00:52:16,120 --> 00:52:22,680 Is this what the Bible teaches? Verse 5 says the Lord saw that 735 00:52:22,680 --> 00:52:28,240 the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every 736 00:52:28,240 --> 00:52:33,320 intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually 737 00:52:35,880 --> 00:52:39,960 friends, apart from Christ, we are not good people. 738 00:52:40,200 --> 00:52:45,840 We are wicked and evil. Now you might think, OK, what's 739 00:52:45,840 --> 00:52:48,920 the point of pointing this out? You want us to feel bad. 740 00:52:50,440 --> 00:52:53,000 What's the what's the point of point us out? 741 00:52:53,000 --> 00:52:56,400 There are many reasons why this doctrine, why total depravity 742 00:52:56,400 --> 00:52:59,160 matters, why many reasons, but I'll give you 2. 743 00:52:59,800 --> 00:53:04,120 A We have a problem with the problem of evil. 744 00:53:05,760 --> 00:53:10,080 We have a problem with the problem of evil, problem of 745 00:53:10,080 --> 00:53:11,560 evil. The basic premise is this. 746 00:53:11,640 --> 00:53:15,160 Why do bad things happen to good people? 747 00:53:17,000 --> 00:53:22,120 There are no good people. There are no good people. 748 00:53:25,960 --> 00:53:30,440 B Second reason. If we don't see ourselves as 749 00:53:30,440 --> 00:53:34,480 wicked and evil apart from Christ, if you don't see 750 00:53:34,480 --> 00:53:39,920 yourself, especially if you grew up in a conservative or moral 751 00:53:40,000 --> 00:53:45,320 family, if you followed the rules, towed the line, if you if 752 00:53:45,320 --> 00:53:50,560 you don't see yourself as wicked and evil apart from Christ, then 753 00:53:50,560 --> 00:53:52,080 we don't need saving from that much. 754 00:53:57,500 --> 00:54:03,740 We simply have a slight limp and Christ is a crutch for that limp 755 00:54:05,120 --> 00:54:11,000 rather than my legs were paralyzed and Christ gave me the 756 00:54:11,000 --> 00:54:24,810 ability to walk. Many Christians see Christ as an 757 00:54:24,810 --> 00:54:30,610 added bonus to their life. He made my life better. 758 00:54:32,770 --> 00:54:36,810 He didn't make your life better, He made your life. 759 00:54:37,250 --> 00:54:39,490 You don't have a life without Him. 760 00:54:43,560 --> 00:54:47,960 You were dead because you are wicked and evil and so am I. 761 00:54:52,600 --> 00:54:55,360 Do you see what he saved you from? 762 00:55:02,520 --> 00:55:06,200 A last point. God is not a robot unaffected by 763 00:55:06,200 --> 00:55:08,560 our choices. He is a person who feels and who 764 00:55:08,560 --> 00:55:13,240 grieves. God is not a robot unaffected by 765 00:55:13,240 --> 00:55:16,760 our choices. He is a person who feels and who 766 00:55:16,760 --> 00:55:19,480 grieves. I can think of at least two 767 00:55:19,480 --> 00:55:23,320 categories where this matters. A is the doctrine called divine 768 00:55:23,320 --> 00:55:25,080 impossibility. B. 769 00:55:25,080 --> 00:55:29,040 With the problem of evil, Again, a divine impossibility. 770 00:55:29,040 --> 00:55:30,960 What is that doctrine? This is a doctrine that teaches 771 00:55:30,960 --> 00:55:36,680 that God does not experience human emotions, pain, distress, 772 00:55:37,040 --> 00:55:39,320 and cannot be affected by external forces. 773 00:55:40,280 --> 00:55:43,200 In other words, divide, like God doesn't have emotions the way we 774 00:55:43,200 --> 00:55:44,400 do. But we say that God is angry. 775 00:55:44,400 --> 00:55:46,960 His anger is not like ours. We say that God is grieved. 776 00:55:46,960 --> 00:55:48,880 His grief is not like ours. We say God is sad. 777 00:55:48,960 --> 00:55:52,240 He's not sad like us. There's a divine impossibility. 778 00:55:52,360 --> 00:55:55,520 We cannot affect God. Nothing we can do can 779 00:55:55,800 --> 00:55:57,760 objectively and ultimately affect God. 780 00:55:59,400 --> 00:56:02,200 This, this is true. This is a true doctrine, even if 781 00:56:02,200 --> 00:56:04,480 it's a mystery. But sometimes Christians will 782 00:56:04,480 --> 00:56:08,520 take this too far and they will think, well, that's true. 783 00:56:08,520 --> 00:56:10,120 You don't really care about my son Matt. 784 00:56:11,840 --> 00:56:15,880 I mean, little old Matt in Renton, WA, you know, a little 785 00:56:15,880 --> 00:56:19,000 old look on the computer or a little harsh statement to the 786 00:56:19,000 --> 00:56:19,680 wife. Like it. 787 00:56:19,800 --> 00:56:21,640 I don't really I mean don't affect God. 788 00:56:21,640 --> 00:56:24,240 God's got bigger things to fry. He's like got the Iran war to 789 00:56:24,240 --> 00:56:27,960 worry about and and and children dying in the Congo, right, Like 790 00:56:28,160 --> 00:56:31,240 like God. No, no, no, no. 791 00:56:34,760 --> 00:56:37,680 B The problem of evil. One of the ways that some people 792 00:56:37,680 --> 00:56:40,320 will solve this problem of evil is they will say God doesn't 793 00:56:40,320 --> 00:56:41,280 care about the evil in the world. 794 00:56:41,920 --> 00:56:44,080 Why is there evil in this world? Because God doesn't care about 795 00:56:44,080 --> 00:56:46,440 it. He doesn't care. 796 00:56:46,560 --> 00:56:53,080 Neither of these are true. God is not a robot unaffected by 797 00:56:53,080 --> 00:56:55,560 our choices. He is a person who feels and who 798 00:56:55,560 --> 00:56:57,920 grieves. There is some measure of 799 00:56:57,920 --> 00:57:01,800 anthropomorphism going on here, but as the NIV translates this, 800 00:57:02,000 --> 00:57:06,280 the Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his 801 00:57:06,280 --> 00:57:12,240 heart was filled with pain. God himself said his own words. 802 00:57:12,240 --> 00:57:15,480 He said, I am grieved that I made them. 803 00:57:19,240 --> 00:57:27,240 God is grieved by my sin. He is grieved by the sin in this 804 00:57:27,240 --> 00:57:33,080 world, and that is a good thing. Why? 805 00:57:33,400 --> 00:57:35,840 Because He was grieved enough to do something about it. 806 00:57:36,720 --> 00:57:44,600 The first time He sent a flood. For the second time He sent a 807 00:57:44,600 --> 00:57:51,880 son. It is God's grief over our sin 808 00:57:52,840 --> 00:57:59,120 that moves him to send a son to save us from it. 809 00:58:01,640 --> 00:58:02,040 Let's pray.